(And why they're not seeing the business opportunities on offer)
There's an interesting piece of wisdom from Robert Cialdini, best selling author of Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion and Presuasion: a Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade)
"What's prominent becomes causal - even if it's not."
Robert Cialdini, Pre-suasion
(It also explains why - if you're ever interviewed by police on camera - you should sit side-on to the camera.)
Essentially, it says that if you make something central in an argument often enough then people will accept that it is causing what you're talking about - just because it's visible and repeated so often.
(In a police interview recording, if you're the person face-on in the frame, your perceived guilt is increased - just because you're the focus. It's human neurobiology.)
In the business sustainability space, this helps to explain why there is so MUCH belief in "government policy" and "reducing consumption" and "environment is an expensive compliance obligation" - when actually there is a rich smorgasbord of actionable, high-ROI solutions commercially available today.
The media has been reporting on the need for "government policy" and "reducing consumption" for decades. Authorities have been enforcing regulations for most of a century. Industry bodies have been talking about "efficiency" and "reporting" and "reduction".
What more is there?
In 2017, Project Drawdown's 70 independent researchers published the results of 4 years analysis and modelling. They identified 80 existing, commercial, no-government-required solutions for reversing global warming.
6 years on, Drawdown has now catalogued 93 commercial climate solutions scaling globally. In 2021, Project Regeneration started publishing climate solutions actions for individuals, communities, regions and SMEs. (They're up to about 70 lists.)
Global studies of Circular Economy savings indicate that industry has trillion dollar savings available globally today. (About
Yet most people are so programmed into "government action" that they're missing out on a whole lot of fun and a whole lot of impact.
And a surprising number of businesses - especially SME businesses - aren't aware of
"The biggest business opportunity in human history"
Dr Jonathan Foley, CEO Project Drawdown.
Interested in exploring for YOUR opportunities?
Check out our upcoming workshop on Regenerative Business Planning for SMEs, starting 22nd May 2023.